Monday, July 18, 2016

[If
you’ve read any of my work, you’ll know I love stories set in
exotic locales. Check out Conquered, a historical erotic romance that
takes place in WWII Guam. And don’t forget to enter Paula’s
drawing at the end of the post! ~ Lisabet]

Blurb

Conquered
is a passionate love story, as much about its main characters, Guam
native Jesi Taimanglo and American GI Johan Landers, as it is about
author Paula Quinene’s passion for Guam itself. As her characters
try to find a place for themselves amid the war, Jesi’s relatives,
and the Chamorro traditions, Quinene charts a path through a seldom
told story: Guam’s place in WWII. An original idea written with an
original voice that invites readers in to the exotic world of the
Pacific, complete with coconut trees, banana doughnuts, dolphins
swimming in the ocean, and moonlight on Pago Bay, Conquered
also recounts the brutal horrors of the Japanese occupation on Guam,
a US territory largely forgotten back in the States. In addition to
learning about a singular and little-known culture that has played a
part in the world wars of the Pacific, readers will undoubtedly crave
the recipe for banana doughnuts.

—Stacey Donovan, Writer,
Editor, and Author of Dive

Excerpt

Johan
stood beside her, and could feel her arm against him. The slight
grazing of her skin assaulted his senses. Christ Landers, they’re
praying and you’re thinking of that. She did the sign of the cross
again, and the prayer ended.

“Come,
Johan, you and your men eat first,” Mrs. T said, appearing out of
nowhere.

“We
can wait, Ma’am.”

“No,
you’re our guests. Jesi and Peter, show them what we have.”

Jesi
led Johan, more like pulled him first, to the table. Peter helped the
other soldiers.

“It’s
not fancy,” Jesi said as she handed him an old bowl and spoon.
“We’re blessed we didn’t lose our house.”

“Sure
do.” A grin spread across his lips. “My favorite is brown trout
because my Pops used to take me fly-fishing in the Catskills, and we
caught a lot of that kind of fish.”

“You’re
a fisherman?”

Johan
watched as she ladled fish, shrimp, and white broth into his bowl.

“I
wouldn’t go that far. I was mediocre on my best days. Pops was
great at it. We’d come home with tons of fish.”

They
moved down the table.

“Sounds
like you miss him.”

“I
do. He passed awhile ago.”

“I
miss both my grandpas.”

In
an instant, he saw the joy dissipate from her face. Don’t make her
cry.

“What
is that?” Jeez, I might have to eat it. “If I eat whatever that
is,” he nodded toward the bowl of beans and something, “will it
bring that pretty smile of yours back? I didn’t mean to make you
sad.”